The Siege of Dannenholm
The Siege of Dannenholm was a major battle of the Frenntolic Rebellion, it was the last major decisive victory for Kymurian forces, and was responsible for the destruction of the last Frenntolic Army in the North East. After the disastrous Battle of Eshing Line, in which hundreds of thousands of civilians died trying to cover the retreat of the Grand Frenntolic Army, Lord Frenntolic moved his remaining 40,000 men into the capital of Dannenholm, and ordered the city to be fortified. Issuing the Dannenholm Proclamation, which read, “All men and boys able to carry a spear will assemble at the Great Courthouse within the next week to report for duty. Each man will bring his wife to manage the supplies and cook and wash for him. All unmarried men will bring any unmarried woman he can find to do the same. Anyone too aged, infirm or pregnant is excused from duty. All those found at home after receiving this order will be hanged.” FRENNTOLIC ULTIMA MATRA Preparations Over the next week, Frenntolic troops and civilians set about fortifying the city, and turned it into a vast fortress that was capable of swallowing any army which assaulted it. Eight months’ worth of food, water, ammunition and fuel were stockpiled in the Grand Church and heavily guarded. The city’s alcohol supply was kept in a large cellar under the barracks to prevent mass drunkenness. The huge Dannenholm Docks were deliberately partly burned and sealed off to prevent any Kymurian troops from landing there. After four days, 40-70,000 armed personnel were counted as ready to fight. 30,000 had Sparkmuskets and the rest had a mixture of swords, pikes, spears and bows. The partly-complete sewer system was utilised as a network for supply, communication and sabotage. Frenntolic and his staff centred their command in the Jubal Palace, which had been serving as the de-facto administrative building for the duration of the war. The 6 primary generals and their adjutants were sent to tall buildings near their units positions. All over the city, flags were raised and Town Criers were told to deliver patriotic messages to boost morale. Initially, there was a fear that Kymurian Loyalists may stage a counter-rebellion during the siege, but most civilians seemed sympathetic to the Frenntolic cause and readily volunteered for the army before they were drafted. To accommodate for the large mass of new recruits, a new Corps was Created under a notable local Squire, Squire Monke. The now 6 corps were assigned to 6 strategic areas. The I, II and III Corps were deployed along the wide approaches to meet a direct assault, while the IV Corps held the Hill Road, in order to keep it open should reinforcements from Zeor province arrive. V Corps was positioned to support I, II and III Corps, and the new VI corps was stationed in the central district and Docks, largely to keep order. The last few hundred cavalry and Zeor Guard were assigned to the protection of supplies and as bodyguards to the Frenntolic Generals respectively. On the Kymurian side, Cyroth’s generals had been urging for him to order an assault for the past week, but he was waiting for Baron Maitland to defeat Frenntolic’s son in the North West, so that Dannenholm would be the final victory. The unexpected, if minor Frenntolic victory at the Battle of Dowwen’s Run at the end of that week, however, meant that the wait was largely in vain. The Battle After seven days, 200,000 trained men of the Kymurian Army had assembled into nine Corps in front of the city and were primed for assault. The Battle began on the 14th with a concentrated bombardment against the I and II Frenntolic Corps Holding the main approaches, while 17000 Cavalry and 70,000 men attacked the Frenntolic troops centred around the Hill Road. Within seven hours of brutal hand-to-hand fighting, the Frenntolic troops were driven back into the urban sprawl of Dannenholm, and the Kymurians had established an artillery position on the Agris Hill Range, which began to pour a withering fire upon the city. Frenntolic ordered the V Corps to mount a counterattack and drive back the exhausted Kymurians now occupying the northern end of the city, but trying to move 12,000 men through the crowded streets proved extremely challenging, and the counterattack only regained two streets worth of ground. That night, Frenntolic morale reached a low due to the artillery damage and the fact that the Kymurians had breached the city far quicker than expected. As a result, there was a riot in the dock areas. Lord Frenntolic wasted no time in dispatching troops to brutally put down what he perceived as a Loyalist insurrection. That morning, before the battle began, Frenntolic issued the security proclamation, stating: “Due to recent unacceptable civilian behaviour, the city is now under martial law. All those suspected of treason will be arrested at the discretion of military authorities. Those not involved in military affairs will be required to REMAIN IN THEIR HOMES whenever possible. Frenntolic Bridge is now off limits to civilian foot traffic. Anyone found loitering in the evening hours will be executed. Those guilty of sheltering prisoners or Kymurians will be executed. Those who do not attempt to stop the Kymurians will be executed.”'' FRENNTOLIC ULTIMA MATRA Even those who were staunchly loyal to Frenntolic were now disillusioned with the increasingly draconian laws that were being enacted. On the 23rd, a major breach of the front lines prompted Frenntolic to call in his generals for a war council, where they concluded that the situation was hopeless, since tens of thousands were dead and countless more wounded, yet all attempts at a counter-offensive had failed. Frenntolic was adamant however that the city remain in battle, since there were several miles of increasingly dense streets left before the Kymurians reached the Jubal Palace. That night, the Agris Hill Artillery received a huge stockpile of ammunition, which began an even more intense bombardment of Dannenholm. Thousands of civilians and routing troops began to pour across Frenntolic bridge, which was quickly fortified against the onrushing horde, and many of them were crushed underfoot or killed by Frenntolic's "National Guard," on the other side. The Abandonment and Sacking of Dannenholm The morning after the horrific slaughter, (dubbed "The night of the rotting flesh," by soldiers and civillians on account of the bodies piling up in the streets,) Frenntolic, a personal bodyguard of 40 horsemen, 200 "National Guard," and 4 generals left the Jubal Palace in secret, marching northward through the Great pass, leaving Dannenholm in bloody anarchy, which continued for a week. Cyroth, when asked if he would stop his troops from causing panic and harm, responded, "They Northerners planted the seeds of war, it is long due we payed them their harvest. I do not pity them."